Honeymooning in Portugal

The story of two girls with absolutely no actual idea of how to navigate Portugal or have any clue of what to do in a weeks time! Well, we did a lot actually & it was amazing.

Last Sunday, Julia & I flew from Naples to Faro airport at the wee hours of the morning to begin our week long Portuguese honeymoon (it is still a huge deal to me that Julia actually allowed me to call it one) We did it because duh we love each other?! But, also because we both really wanted to see the country and also all of our other friends are either still in their programs, with their parents, or already home (weird ah!) Anyway, we were excited nonetheless. We landed in Faro, Portugal (point that out on a map, I dare you) and instantly recognized that neither of us had any idea of how to get to Lagos, Portugal… so, there it began. We blindly followed whoever’s advice we could get ahold of and caught a bus to the middle of bumblefuck Faro to catch some other train. Mind you, this section of the Algarve coast is a bit more “graffiti and stone” vs. the expected “sand and flowers.” Regardless, we couldn’t stop pointing out the window dying of laughter at our situation. That’s my first piece of advice for traveling with only one other person, don’t take anything too seriously. We laughed off any mistake and high-fived at any “good logistical decision!” It eliminated so many possible stresses and even made the three-hour train ride more bearable.

After the long travel day consisting of more public transportation in one day than I think I did all abroad (I know, I’m a brat) we reached Lagos and instantly the trek was all worth it. The sun was shining so we raced down to the beaches only to be met by the most beautiful beach I had ever seen in my life. We stayed at ‘Carvi Beach Hotel’ which was neighbors with the famous beach Praia Dona Ana… it was magnificent. Cliffs and caves with jagged brown rock surrounded the serene crystal clear, blue water. I don’t think a single person on that beach had a from on their face, I mean how could they. We watched kayakers, surfers, and the many boats until we were ready to explore the other two nearby. It was one of those days that we literally just stared at the beauty for so long – another “best day ever” of abroad in the book.

The next day, it was sadly raining and Lagos actually shuts down in the rain. But heyyy didn’t stop us though, so we walked to go explore the town and naturally decided that the best option for us seeing that our situation wasn’t the best was to get drunk.. because what else would we come up with lets be real.. wine crawl here we come! We tasted a bunch of Portuguese red wines which I can now say I love, then were ready to go back to take a big FAT nap. By 7pm the sun came up so we rushed to get up and hiked to Ponta Da Piedade, a trail that takes you to the most beautiful lookout. The cliffs were so incredible and it felt like we were on the edge of Portugal as we watched the sunset.. well we literally were! Then we went back to town to have some incredible fish before we rested for our next travel day.

*important to note & give credit where credit is due – Portuguese food is OUT OF THIS WORLD. I seriously do not know how I can have fish for a while, not because I got tired of it but because it was so good/fresh I can’t compare. I’ll have dreams about it, I’m sure of it.

Aaaaaand on to Lisbon! Another three hour journey (by bus this time) well worth it. Lisbon is one of those places that I have always always wanted to visit and was so excited. The city is an awesome mix between trendy, historical, laid back, unique, cultural, bustling, and so much more. It really does have it all… like I know laid back / bustling is a contradiction but I truly think that Lisbon somehow manages to mesh all the contradictions together. To me, Lisbon was definitely a runner up to Barcelona in regards to favorite big city in Europe. Also, the people there were all so so nice. One of our Uber drivers said it perfectly, “Here in Lisbon we are so happy. We die early but happy and we don’t care! We cook our food in oil because it makes us happy! We drink wine because it makes us happy! But most importantly, we don’t care who you are, who you love, what you believe in… we love differences… like I’m just an Uber driver… I quit my day job to talk to people and drive because that is what I love to do!” Even though I want a long and healthy life (sorry man) that also resonated with me in the reminder that so often we take life so seriously. To stop and enjoy even just a meal or a view a day is so valuable without always planning, planning, and planning for what is next. Their culture was an awesome reminder to appreciate the little things and that stress can be so easily avoided.. if you don’t like something in your life, change it.. Only got one life as our Uber driver pointed out many times! I’m just happy to be living in it in with the people that I am!

Anywaysss, we did a ton in Lisbon. Since there is so much to see I wrote out a makeshift itinerary combining tips from friends & bloggers so I am just attaching it below to give a summary of what we did and then I just added comments right now! If there was another sunny day we would have definitely have gone to Cascais (surfing lessons maybe!?) or rented a sunset cruise.

Day 1:

-       Check into Hotel York House (3pm)

-       Time out Market for lunch, see it (THIS WAS AMAZING. Literally all of the best of Lisbon in one market. We could have stayed for hours trying new things. We would just walk around with a glass of red tasting everything. Incredible.)

-       Go through Pink Street to wander, walk through Rua Nova Do Carvahlo & Sao Paulo square

-       Walk towards Alfama district (we ended up taking a tuk tuk to the top to see the view and then walked through, so fun!) To get to the district we walked through Praca de Comerico the big plaza, saw the Cathedral of Lisbon, then wandered Alfama

-       Memmo Hotel rooftop for a drink (loved this place, so relaxing and a great view of Alfama)

-       We had dinner at Mad Ao Carmo for Portuguese seafood (get Octopus, mussels, and cod.. amazing) then went home and rested

Day 2:

Rainy day but still was great!!

-       Brunch at Flauna y Flora (long wait but one of the best brunches I have ever had. So healthy too)

-       Walked to the LX Factory (this was SUCH a dope / trendy area with cool wall art, vintage shops, bars & restaurants. Julia and I both bought vintage jackets we are quite proud of.)

-       Walked to Belem Tower & Belem area (most importantly went to this area to try the egg tarts from Pasteis de Belem.. there is a line because so famous but it was so worth it.. incredible. Still don’t know what is in them, but WOWZA)

-       Started raining pretty hard so we went back to the hotel and relaxed!

-       Cleared up so we went to PARK rooftop bar (AMAZING ROOFTOP BAR. Dj, feels like LA, amazing drinks.. it got super crowded but when we had a seat it was perfect, apparently the sunsets are great there too)

-       Walked to Pink Street to grab a drink and people watch until dinner – Livraria Bar was a library bar with books and quotes that we loved

-       Restaraunte Vicente by Carnalentejana for some authentic but affordable Portuguese steak, incredible.

Day 3:

SINTRA!

-       Brunch at Heim Café early – so good, get a variety of their toast!

-       Walked to Rossio station for train to Sintra, they ran every hour so had to wait a bit

-       Full on hiked to Castle of Moors and Pena Palace which were both jaw droppingly beautiful. Some of my favorite sights I saw abroad. Also important to note I was wearing straight up wedges, someone let me know why / how.. 8 miles lataaa…

-       Walked around old town & got lunch at Tascantiga (Portuguese tapas)

-       Went home & rested on hotel patio – sooo tired after Sintra

-       Dinner at Raizes, super local and fresh Portuguese place with a small menu. So great and cute

In summary, we loved everything we did and everything we ate here. That is another tip, travel with someone with enough similarities that there is always something you both want to do and then can compromise on the rest. Like, we both are huge foodies, so we got to try all of Portugal’s weirdest delicacies and famous fish (1,000 ways to make cod!) loved every second. This trip was definitely the most I have ever felt like eating out was a true experience versus just ‘going out to dinner’ which was great. Other than what I listed, we had a time and a half exploring the unique streets of Lisbon at our own pace.. it really does have so much – awesome bar and restaurant scene at pink street & Bairro Alto, the history and beautiful views in Alfama district, peacefulness by the water, and the extraordinary Castle of the Moors and Pena Palace only 40 minutes away from Lisbon in Sintra.

Maybe it is because this city reminded me of the European San Francisco (Golden Gate Bridge look alike, trams, hilly streets, etc.) that made me love it so much – I miss family! – but I could definitely say I would recommend this city to anyone!

Lagos, Lisbon, and Sintra truly blew me away. So lucky to have had such good vibes on this trip with only one friend! We saw and did so much and loved every day in Portugal – rain & shine!

As they say.. till next time Portugal !